


I love you, Vanessa Mateo

by strugglingateverything



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 09:01:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19270018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strugglingateverything/pseuds/strugglingateverything
Summary: Brooke Lynn Hytes has a secret crush on Vanessa Mateo. It’s the last time any of them will be together until a reunion years later, so Brooke confesses her love for the most popular girl in school during her graduation speech.What will happen when Vanessa shows up to her house later on that day?





	I love you, Vanessa Mateo

**Author's Note:**

> queen of making movie au’s that no one cares about and I got one thing to say, this is an I love you, Beth Cooper au.

Forget me, you’re on your way

We don’t have to stay in touch

We may remember someday

Till then it doesn’t matter that much

Someday I’ll have to wonder

And dreams may cloud the truth

But if you promise me

I promise I’ll never forget you

Brooke can’t help but tune out Kahanna’s voice as she nervously sweats through her gown. The fact that she couldn’t make out anyone’s face only helping her a little.

She didn’t know why she let Nina talk her into this.

////////////////

“You will never see her again.” Nina says through the library bookcase, adjusting a book away from her face that Brooke put up to ignore her. “After graduation, she’ll be gone until like the tenth reunion, if you both even live that long. And she’ll have that, like, big pregnant cow grin on her face, she won’t even remember who you are.”

“Well, I sat behind her in almost every class.” Brooke retorts, trying to make herself feel better.

“Right. Behind her!” Nina yells which prompts the librarian and the library’s occupants to shush her into submission. “Behind her-.” Nina says quieter. “-she never saw you girl. If you don’t give this big speech at graduation, you don’t even exist to her. No Brooke, if you do not do this... I’m serious. If you don’t do this ‘you’ll regret it, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon... and for the rest of your life.’” Nina dramatically pauses, waiting for Brooke to catch onto the reference she dropped.

“What are you talking about, Nina?” 

“Come one, it’s Casablanca, 1942... Michael Curtiz, Director. Bogart, girl!” Nina yells even louder as her hints are just met with a confused face and more shushing from the librarian. “Seriously, Bogart.”

//////////////////

Forget the tears we cried

Forget the good times too

Forget the pain inside

Everyone claps as Kahanna finishes the song with a wonky guitar chord.

“Thank you Kehlani.” Ms. Visage says as she steps up to the podium. 

“It’s Kahanna.” Kahanna corrects as she walks off the stage with a disgruntled expression. “Whatever.”

“Kahanna. Thank you for that rousing rendition of ‘Forget Me’. Next, and finally, your valedictorian...... Brooke Lynn Hytes.” Ms. Visage introduces, Brooke stands and walks to the stand, she clears her throat and looks into Nina’s reassuring eyes in the crowd.

“Today we look forward....look forward to getting out of here.” The stupid joke only has her parents giggling as everyone looked on with waning interest. “But today, I would also like to look back, look back on our four years here at Forest Lake High School, looking back, not with anger, but with no regrets. No regrets for what we wanted to do.. but did not, what we wanted to say.. but could not. And so I say here today, the one thing I wish I had said, the one thing I know I will regret if I never say.” Brooke takes a deep breath: “I love you, Vanessa Mateo.”

The minute her words leave her mouth everyone turns towards Vanessa while talking and speculating, who is sitting with a shocked face. She can’t think about the repercussions of her words because before she can stop herself, she’s already talking again.

“I have loved you, Vanessa Mateo, since I first sat behind you in Ms. Rice’s math class in the seventh grade. I loved you when I sat behind you in Señor Matthews Spanish and Ms. Cressley’s literature of the Oppressed. I loved you from behind-“ at those words people giggle and Brooke can see Ms. Visage slowly get up from her seat.

“in biology, history, and yes, even Practical Science. I loved you but I never told you because we never spoke. Isn’t that unbelievable? But now I say it, with no regrets. I love you, Vanessa Mateo.”

Everyone stares at her with shock and interest. Brooke can see her fathers camcorder get shoved down by her mother as she continues her years long word vomit.

“And so let us all say things that we longed to say, but our tongues would not. Let us be unafraid to admit ‘I have an eating disorder, and I need help’. We need to confess ‘I’m a stuck up bitch because deep down I believe I’m worthless’. Let us declare, ‘I’m a big dumb moron, I’m a big old asshole who beats up on other kids, because I was unloved as a baby or something’. And let’s all vow, ‘When I graduate, I’m not gonna keep hanging around my old high school like some kind of creepy loser, who can’t get an adult girlfriend’. You know who you are. You.”

Brooke points towards Vanessa’s boyfriend vaguely, knowing that she was directing her ire at him without actually naming him. 

People turn towards each other and point or whisper about the people Brooke has not so subliminally called out.

“And, yeah let us not regret, that we never told our own best friend, ‘I’m straight dude, I’m totally straight.” Brooke can see Nina mouth ‘I’m not straight’ just before Ms. Visage cuts her off.

“Thank you, Brooke, food for thought.” she interrupts as Brooke calls out a thank you over her shoulder on her way to her seat.

Her other graduates are still chattering as the guidance counselor tries to quiet everyone down.

///////////////

Brooke makes her way outside after the ceremony ended, not paying attention she walks right in front of a group photo, to save herself she crouches down and smiles as she weaves in between the camera and the girls.

After escaping their confused gazes she doesn’t get far before Ms. Visage touches her shoulder.

“Ms. Hytes, Hi.”

“Hey! Hello.”

“I’ve never known you to do anything so reckless, really at all reckless.”

“Well thank you.” Brooke says suddenly bashful with a touched expression on her face.

“Um no. That is not what I would expect from somebody who is going to Stanford. You know one call from me, and you could be going to Charles Community College.”

“Ms. Visage that would be unimaginable, you can’t just-, look I don’t know why I did that.”

“Who was that back there?”

“That was not me. I was under the influence.”

“Are you inebriated?”

“What? No I just meant my thinking had been compromised. Nina told me-“

“Nina West?”

“Yeah?”

“I wouldn’t be taking homosexual advice from Nina West.”

“But she was right! I mean, I had to do something. I’m not there in her brain, she will have absolutely no memory of me.”

“So?”

“So? Come on, Ms. Visage, haven’t you ever been in love?”

The counselor seems to go back somewhere in her memory. After a few seconds she seems to snap out of it and crosses her arms.

“Brooke, there’s another Vanessa Mateo out there. One just for you.” with those words the shorter woman leaves her alone.

Across the courtyard she can see Vanessa talking to Silky and A’keria, her best friends and fellow cheerleaders. They seem to be talking about her, if the pointed glances and even more pointed fingers are any indication.

When her and Vanessa make eye contact, Vanessa determinedly walks towards her before she can run away.

“You embarrassed me back there.” Vanessa starts while staring Brooke down as she attempts to stammer out a reasonable reply. “But it was sweet, so I guess I have to let you live.”

Brooke can’t help but let out a sigh of relief as she gains a dopey smile at the fact that Vanessa is even talking to her. “Well that’s good, because I like to live.”

Brooke rocks on her heels as the lull in conversation, turned things awkward.

“Is it like 800 degrees in there, it’s fucking boiling.” Vanessa says as she sheds the heavy gown, revealing a tank top and short jean shorts to Brooke’s eyes. Brooke tried to look away and act like she was interested in the brick wall to their left.

“Actually, the boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and 100 degrees Celsius.”

“I’m so hot.” Vanessa shakes her hair and looks at Brooke while fanning herself.

“I can imagine that you’re hot.” Brooke says distractedly as she still tries to keep her eyes on Vanessa’s face.

A presence to her right alerts her to the fact that Nina is staring at her incredulously. “Hey, so I’m not straight.”

“Nina, Hi.” Brooke smiles while killing Nina with her eyes, for interrupting her first conversation with Vanessa.

“Hello, Hi, Hey. Hi, didn’t realize there was a line, or else I would’ve taken a number, get it cause...” Nina says, while Brooke repeatedly elbows her discreetly.

“Nah, nah, that’s okay, I gotta go.” Vanessa starts to walk away backwards while still looking at them both.

“Halt! I mean stop, wait, there’s a little soirée at my house tonight, course that’s redundant. I don’t know what I’m really even talking about.”

“What she means is, it’s a party, more of a party than a French thing. Music, drinks, prizes.”

“Party.” Brooke chokes out, looking at Vanessa with hope.

“Sounds fun.” Vanessa shakes her head up and down and again tries to back away.

“It is fun, will be, in the future that is, and goddamn it, you’re invited. Officially.”

“Wow.” Vanessa sarcastically says as Brooke stops gesturing with her jazz hands. “Thanks.”

“2937 Hackberry Lane, Zip is 98401, if you’re Google mapping it.”

“Well, maybe we could stop by.” Vanessa suggests to placate Brooke, as she looks into her hopeful face, not sure if she would actually go or not.

“Cool, or not. I mean whatever, you come, you come. If you don’t, you don’t.” Brooke’s sentence is cut off as Vanessa’s boyfriend, Ethan, puts a heavily muscled arm on her shoulders.

“You humiliated me and insulted her.” Ethan says in his low southern drawl while slowly weighing her down. “Are you prepared to die?”

Vanessa mouths a ‘sorry’ as everyone just watches on as he breathes down her neck. She knew he wouldn’t cause any real damage, his sister would do it if she got the chance, thankfully she was away for college.

“You must be Vanessa’s boyfriend, I actually have to go to the bathroom.” Nina excused herself while ignoring Brooke’s panicked ‘Nina!’ and turning right into the chests of Ethan’s human guard dogs. “Um..”

“I’m gonna give you ten seconds to convince me why I should let you live.”

“I think you mean ‘persuade’ not ‘convince’” Brooke unhelpfully adds despite the consequences.

His arm getting heavier and heavier, until her knees start to buckle.

“Is there a problem here?” Ms. Visage, seeing the struggle she interjected.

“No, ma’am.”

“My hand, it just slipped.” is said in unison as Ethan straightens both her clothes and her body.

“You know I can’t allow you to kill anyone on school property?”

“Yes ma’am, I am.” Ethan assures while seemingly giving Brooke a friendly pat on her back, the gasp and step forward she takes reveal that it was a lot harder and cruel than appearances would reveal.

“Baby, that ain’t nice. She’s harmless.” Vanessa weakly defends Brooke under Ethan’s arm as he steers her towards her previous spot after Ms. Visage’s exit.

Once their out of earshot, Nina saddles up to her with a smug but concerned grin.

“So you got to talk to her, seems like the speech worked.”

////////////////

A car driving by with other students in blue gowns zooms down the street, both Nina and Brooke can hear their shouts of ‘Loser’ as they make their way to Brooke’s house.

“Look, I’m not straight, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m not.”

“Okay, Yeah I get it.”

“What made you think that?”

“Well you’ve never talked about a girlfriend or expressed any interest in girls.”

“You haven’t had a girlfriend either though.”

“Well I’ve tried, pining after the same girl should count for something.”

Nina’s attention goes to the gift box clutched in Brooke’s hand along with her gown. 

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s just a gift from my dad for graduation.”

“Well let me see it.” Nina snatches the box from Brooke loose grip and opens it before Brooke can stop her.

The contents lay waiting for her eyes, a necklace with a dna helix structure is shown in a velvet box. The shiny silver is seen to be expensive but at Nina’s look of shock, Brooke brushes her off.

“It’s not that big of a deal, it’s a necklace for when I go off after this summer.”

“This is expensive, and I think it’s sweet that your parents got you this, all I got was a bill. Of course my dad was joking, it wasn’t funny when you wake up to it.”

Brooke chuckled knowing that Nina’s father was a jokester just like his daughter. He was like a second father to her and her father to Nina’s.

Finally Brooke’s house comes into view and they race each other to the door, a tradition they picked up during freshman year.

//////////////

Hours later Nina skips the steps of Brooke house and half-assedly knocks on the front door before barging in. She makes her way to the kitchen and sees Brooke nervously arrange snacks and drinks on the island.

“Chill out. She’s probably not even coming, we’ll be the only people here, why are you stressing out?” Nina’s says in between bites of chips as Brooke airs out her shirt. 

The sweat making her more nervous, she lifts her arm to make sure that she won’t offend anybody with her smell. Nina’s assurance doesn’t help her, on some level she knows that Vanessa probably won’t even think of coming over, but a small part of her wants her to prove them both wrong.

“What if she does come? I need to be prepared so that she doesn’t think that we’re just losers that embarrassed her in front of the entire graduating class.”

“Well you do that, I’ll stay over here and eat these nachos. And please stop fidgeting, you’re making me nervous and I’m not worried about the love of my life showing up to my house.”

Brooke parents come into view, her mother immediately walks to her to adjust her clothing. The warning look Nina receives causes her to hop off the counter in fear. 

“Well we’re headed off, if you have any problems or you need anything at all, the numbers are on the counter. Call 911 before you call us.” Brooke’s father jokes as he indicated to the numbers written down meticulously by her mother. 

Brooke mother is still arranging her clothing and in tucking and untucking her shirt she discovers her underwear. “Brooke, you can’t wear these, what if something happens tonight?”

“Nothing will be happening under this roof. My baby will be having good clean fun, right?” Brooke’s mother corrects her father as she lowers her shirt and hikes her pants up to cover up her underwear in embarrassment.

“Sure.”

“Well we’re running late, have fun baby. Nina I better not catch you on that counter again.”

“Thank you Mrs. H, I will take that warning.”

Brooke mother walks out the door in a flurry of perfume and heels clacking on the floor. Brooke’s father gestures for them to get closer, with a conspiratorial look on his face.

“Listen, I don’t need to be informed of what you guys do tonight. There are forms of protection in my bedside drawer, if something happens, please use them.” He says ignoring the disgusted look on Brooke’s face at hearing that he even needs protection. “There are 24 bottles of wine in that drawer, everything is accounted for, so have fun and be safe.”

“Thanks dad.” Brooke haltingly speaks up still traumatized at hearing about her parents, apparently healthy sex life. 

“Yeah, thanks Mr. H.” Nina grins, taking delight in Brooke’s disgusted disposition.

He leaves with a wave, they walk out with him and watch as they drive down the driveway and away from the house.

The quiet that follows is quickly interrupted as the sound of squawking tires and an engine are heard all throughout the street.

A small red car that is tipping to the side, once it gets turned is seen barreling towards Brooke’s house, which in turn means towards their very vulnerable bodies.

The car doesn’t seem to be stopping so they quickly jump out of the way as the car is parked crookedly in the driveway. The unseen ‘Opinions on my driving? Call me. 1-800 kiss-my-ass’ bumper sticker would give anyone a clue as to who the driver was.

Vanessa makes her way out of the car and the other two occupants walk out, as if they didn’t just almost hit both of them, with no remorse.

“Hey, where’s our boy in uniform?”

“He’s on my fucking shit list.” Vanessa sneers as she surveys the house and the two people staring at her in awe. “One of his friends, the motherfucker got all date rapey with Silk, so we bounced.”

“Oh.” Brooke somberly says despite the trio looking at her with nonchalance, almost like it was a regular occurrence.

“So where’s the party?”

“This is it, you’re here, at this location, where a party is.” Brooke spreads her hands out, not fully realizing the lackluster response.

“Yes, welcome.”

“Fair warning, the roof may be blown off from some fire beats.”

They guide the three bored looking guests to the front door, once everyone is in they survey the room. No one was in sight and there was no sound coming from anywhere.

“Are we the first ones here?”

“Yup.”

“We’re never the first ones.”

“I’ve never been here before.”

“La fiesta es this way, mi bonitas.” Nina says while gesturing towards the kitchens where the food and drinks are set out.

“Are you speaking Spanish cause I’m Latina?” Vanessa questions jokingly although she has an offended look to her face. Watching both Nina and Brooke go red and stammer out apologies is amusing for the first few seconds, when it continues it becomes less cute. “I’m just joking around, damn you guys are serious.”

“Well, we have a wonderful selection of snacks. The pretzels are fat free.”

“Are you calling me fat?” 

“No. Not at— no.”

“Hey, what, come on, you being fat? Why would she say that? She’s not crazy.”

“My brother was crazy.”

Nina and Brooke laugh as the other three girls watch with no expression.

“That- that’s really cold, Vanessa.”

“Yeah, do you even have a brother?”

“No, he- um he died.”

They laugh even harder as Vanessa’s expression continues to stay unchanged and unamused.

“You got me, you jokester you.”

Once they finally take notice of how their faces are, they stop laughing and quickly sober up.

“I’m so sorry.”

The apologies quickly tumble out as Brooke winces at how she basically laughed in someone’s face about their sibling dying.

“It’s fine. It was long time ago but thanks.”

Vanessa’s phone ringing interrupts the awkward and heavy silence that cloaked the air around them.

“What do you want, Ethan?” she drawls in an annoyed tone as she searches the kitchen for something. “I need a beer.” is said as she whispers the statement to Brooke who immediately springs to action.

Despite not having beer or any alcohol other than champagne and wine, she makes do.

“Nina, my dad doesn’t drink beer.” she whispers not wanting A’keria or Silky to clock her. 

“We have champagne.” Nina says in a funny accent as Vanessa continues her phone call. “It’s Cristal, the drink of pimps.”

“The pimps.” A’keria sarcastically repeats while leaning closer to Nina and the bottle she holds, courtesy of Brooke.

“Mm-hm. Yep.”

“And what do you know about pimps?”

“Nothing at all really.” Nina shuffles the bottle around, the penetrating stare of A’keria and Brooke’s fidgeting getting to her.

“Well, Cristal must’ve changed its logo and spelling.”

Nina quickly turns the bottle over so that the off brand logo cannot be shown. Silky giggles and slaps A’keria on the shoulder, while staring at Nina.

“Girl, you know champagne makes me do things.”

“Water makes your ass do things.” Silky’s happy go lucky smile is wiped from her face at A’keria’s shade and at her change in demeanor, A’keria cackles away.

Vanessa is still having the phone call while Brooke sits at the kitchen table away from Nina and the other girls. She is just setting up to open the bottle when Vanessa mouths at her ‘I want some of that’ with a point and smile.

Brooke wanting to please immediately gets to work, her rarely used muscles straining and failing to open it.

She’s squeezing and pulling the cork but it won’t budge. Not even Vanessa’s constant ‘hurry up’ and ‘what’s taking so long’ exclamations help her get the champagne quicker.

Her phone call with her boyfriend gets more heated as Brooke uses more force to open the bottle. The yells and frantic nature of the energy in the room all compile on Brooke’s shoulders.

Brooke puts the bottle in between her thighs and uses that as leverage as she squeezes even harder. While looking over at Vanessa as she gives a hoarse yell into the phone, the cork explodes out the bottle and hits her nose, the force taking her out of her seat and onto the floor.

The bottle is leaking and so is Brooke’s nose. Everyone watches while Vanessa jumps into action and hangs up her phone. She cradled Brooke’s head and yells at Nina to get something frozen.

Nina goes to the ice bucket, finding nothing but cold water she slams her hands into it, the need to help her friend not allowing her to think very clearly.

She finally looks into the the freezer, seeing only waffles she grabs them and shoves them into Vanessa’s hand.

Vanessa takes the waffle out the pack with an eye roll. She gets closer to Brooke and sits on her lap as she tilts her head back, while putting the frozen waffle on her face. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so pathetic.” Broken miserably moans through the waffle while trying not to think about the fact that Vanessa is close to her.

“Lemme tell you something, most people are pathetic.”

“Well, then I apologize on behalf of all people.” Brooke says with a dorky head nod and smile, that she instantly regrets because the waffle is then pressed into her nose that is possibly broken.

“How does that feel?” Vanessa winces as the blood on the blondes face gets smeared on the slowly thawing waffle. As she winces she adjusts herself on Brooke lap to get more comfortable and to see the other girl squirm.

The moan that follows is either one of pain or pleasure, she can’t be sure because Brooke’s eyes are tightly closed and her fists are clenched.

“I’m alright, I think.”

Deeming Brooke okay to stand, Vanessa makes sure she gains her balance as she goes to the island. They are back to their positions with Brooke and Nina on one side of the counter and the self-proclaimed ‘DreamGirls’ on the other.

“So, this was fun and all but I think we’re gonna go.”

“No, you have to stick around. You can’t go already.”

“We still have wine to drink. 23 bottles.”

“Wine makes me think of Jesus.” Silky cuts in before Nina or Brooke can grovel anymore.

Vanessa has already made her way to the door and everyone followed behind her.

“This was a great party though.” Vanessa says with a wry smile. “You’re real interesting Miss Brooke Lynn.”

The door is opened and they look out until the sound of ‘Ride of Valkyries’ is heard blasting through the silence of Brooke’s neighborhood.

The familiar car causes Brooke’s heart to drop, it was Ethan’s and he was barreling towards her house. 

Door still open with everyone peering out, the huge truck runs down the trees and shrubbery in her front lawn. The tire tracks and ruined landscape tell Brooke this won’t be pleasant, she immediately slams the door and locks it.

The open windows taunt her and as the door gets pounded she scrambled to close every window as they tried to get in. 

Nina and the girls watch her in the foyer as she runs around like a headless chicken. When she thinks that every window is finally closed she lets out a sigh of relief and stands with the girls as Vanessa yells at Ethan through the door. 

Her open backyard glass door taunts her as it creaks open wider. She bolts towards it, rug sliding underneath her weight.

“Is she always like this?” Vanessa finds the time to ask in between her yelling at her possible ex for tracking her phone.

“This is new behavior, but it’s not surprising.”

“She’s kinda cute.” Vanessa tilts her head and watches as Brooke’s form gets smaller as she tries to beat the boys before they get into her house. The incredulous looks she gets from her best friends cause her to stop looking at the blonde. “Damn, what’s up with the looks, I said kinda.”

Brooke doesn’t make it, Ethan pries the doors from her now weak grip. She walks away with her front to them as they follow with intimidating sneers.

“Congratulations, you found me boo.” Vanessa says trying to distract Ethan, she puts her hands around him only for them to be shaken off.

“Interesting situation we have here.” Ethan sniffs and clenches his jaw.

“Have you been doing fuckin coke?” Vanessa hits his chest, the hit doesn’t deter him and he quickly sets his attention back on Brooke who hasn’t responded to anything.

“Not now, Mateo.”

“He’s coked up?” Brooke asks over Ethan’s shoulder to Vanessa. She’s slowly moving away from him towards the kitchen. “That’s not one of the good drugs.”

Ethan goes over her kitchen island while yelling, both him and his sidekicks are throwing things. He takes a vase and shatters it against a wall.

“Aunt Princess gave us that!” Brooke dodges the ceramic shards and tries to avoid stepping on them.

“Prepare to die.”

“Okay, that’s Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner, 1987.” Nina says trying to diffuse the situation, instead Ethan gets even madder and he rips the microwave out the socket. “Also the same line used in Emperor Zurg-“

The microwave is thrown across the air and it narrowly missed both of their heads, their only saving grace is the fact that they crouched down seconds in advance.

“Oh my god, what the fuck Ethan!” Vanessa and her friends yell and curse at him for causing the huge hole in Brooke’s wall, and at the fact that he could have killed both of them. “Stop it! Stop!”

“Thats willful damage to property! That’s a legal term!” Brooke finally gets up out of her crouched position. Nina is hitting her arm and gesturing for them to get out of the kitchen.

They get to the stairs and Brooke immediately books it up there while Nina hesitates.

“No, Brooke. Have you ever seen any of the Friday the 13ths?” Nina yells while looking over the corner at the other people in the house. “You run upstairs you die.” Either way Nina follows Brooke and barely makes it through the door before Brooke slams it closed.

With the door locked, Nina rifles through her closet and looks for anything while throwing game boards and miscellaneous junk to the floor. 

“A weapon, we need a weapon.”

“Oh my god.”

“Find a goddamn weapon.”

The door is being battered on, the hinges are squeaking about to give and the door is bulging under the weight of Ethan’s fist.

Nina grabs lightsabers that were collecting dust, she activated one and throws the other at Brooke who immediately activated hers as Ethan finally breaks down the door.

Brooke faces off with Ethan, they circle each other as Ethan takes notice of her lightsaber.

“I know what you’re thinking, and yes, this is a polycarbonate blade. I took some workshops at the Star Wars convention.”

Ethan looks around the room and sees Brooke’s skeleton in the corner of her room. He breaks off the arms of a skeleton, that used to be a person at one point.

“Dr. McCoy!” Brooke yells in horror, the bones had helped her get into medicine in the first place. “That used to be a person you dick, so you show some respect.”

Ethan takes the arms and uses them like nunchucks. He is swatting at her and winning the pseudo slap fight that ensued.

“Nina! I need your help. Come out the closet!” Brooke panics looking over at the closet, Nina comes out and runs to the window where she jumps out.

Ethan has gained the upper hand and he is winding up the arm to hit her. Vanessa comes up and takes the doctors skull, and she shatters it against Ethan’s head.

The man falls like a sack of heavy bricks. Vanessa is looking at her in alarm while trying to shoo her away.

“Go! Get outta here!”

Brooke takes the warning and leaps out the window onto the roof. She doesn’t see Nina on the lawn or on the roof. Looking over the edge she sees Nina holding onto the drainage pipe for dear life.

It starts to creak while Nina still holds on. She falls on the ground and doesn’t move, Brooke watches on and contemplates even moving.

Ethan makes the choice for her by starting to climb out of the window while Vanessa still yells at him. Brooke, not wanting to get caught jumps off the roof and into the rose bushes that line her backyard.

The thorns are embedded into her skin and she can feel the blood soaking through her shirt. 

“Oww!” Brooke groans and moans through the pain as she makes her way through the bushes on her hands and knees. She finds Nina face down on the ground motionless. “Are you okay?”

“I’m paralyzed. I’m a paralyzed virgin.”

“You’ll be fine. Quadriplegics can still have sex. Let’s go we really need to move.”

They slowly make their way over her fence, their injuries making the process even slower. While looking over at her bedroom they see that Ethan and his cronies are standing on the roof looking at them.

At Ethan’s whistle, the two men jump off the roof and land on their feet like robots. Ethan follows and they stand waiting for his command, again like guard dogs.

“Their like cyborgs.” Nina says in awe while Brooke runs away not wanting to get caught.

They make their way to her front yard. Neither of them having cars make their getaway even harder. Vanessa’s car is gone and her parents are going to be back eventually.

Brooke mine is still whirring when they see Vanessa’s car speeding towards her. It’s not slowing down and Brooke can’t move fast enough, the car hits her and she falls down like a domino.

“Why did you do that!? I thought your ass was smart? Why didn’t you move away?” Vanessa  
gets out the car and checks in on Brooke who is still laying on the ground, with blood flowing from her various wounds.

“I was smart.”

“Oh my fucking god. Help me get her in the car.”

They lift her body and put her in the front seat as they all pile in the car. Ethan and his buddies finally come out the backyard leisurely and they are all crammed in the car.

Vanessa backs out and Ethan gets in front of the car as she starts to accelerate almost hitting him. He dodges her jerky movements and jumps trying to push his weight onto the car.

“Mateo! Stop the car!”

Vanessa finally speeds up to the point where Ethan jumps out of the way of the car, allowing them to get away.

“Call me when you’re sober, asshole!”

//////////////////

They had been on the road for a while. That fact did not prevent Vanessa from swerving and speeding in between other cars and lights.

“Are you okay?” Vanessa asks as her foot gets even heavier on the gas.

“Yeah, no I’m fin-“ Brooke’s cut off as Silky jams her finger in her ear.

“No blood. She’s fine.”

“Um Vanessa, we got away so you can stop escaping now. If you want to.”

“She always drives like this.” 

“I was in Drivers Ed with her.” Nina quietly says with a haunted look, reminiscing the shared lesson they both had where Vanessa almost killed everyone in the car.

“So Vanessa, I just wanted to say thank you for rescuing me.” Brooke starts while shyly smiling at Vanessa still not making eye contact. “Back there after you hit me with your car, that was pretty cool.”

“Nah, you ran into my car.” Vanessa wrongly corrects as she continues to carelessly traverse the dark roads. “I’m not rescuing you. Ethan is real medicated right now. Cocaine, speed and road rage ain’t a good combo, he can’t have another accident.”

“So okay, do your remember the specifics of his last accident ?” 

Brooke question is not answered by anybody and Vanessa seeing the red light ahead, moves the car and speeds through the intersection, honking horns and beeps follow them.

“Stupid drivers.” Vanessa mumbles with a frustrated facial expression.

“Um Vanessa, could I borrow your phone? I left mine at the house.”

Vanessa shoves the phone into her hand and continues to drive. Brooke dials the phone number and gets no answer until the message beeps.

“Hey, Mom and Dad, it-“

“Hey Mrs. H!” Nina, A’keria, and Silky yell out, drowning anything Brooke said out with their loud voices.

“Yeah so, that was Nina. I can explain the kitchen later. If you need to reach me, you can call me at-“ she pulls the phone away and covers the speaker while motioning towards Vanessa. “Vanessa, I’m sorry but can you tell me your number?”

“Shit, my fuckin phone!” Vanessa yells while snatching the phone away from Brooke’s hand. “Ethan’s probably tracking it.”

She throws it out the open window ignoring Brooke’s yell of surprise.

“Aah, I was on the phone with my parents!”

“GPS that, asshole!”

//////////////////

The gas station is mostly empty in the dark night. As per usual Vanessa just barely makes the stop at one of the pumps. The momentum cause Brooke to lose her balance and to fall headfirst in between Vanessa thighs.

The position causes her to see up Vanessa’s dress and at her underwear. The ‘hello there’ phrase causes her to momentarily short circuit, when she looks up Vanessa is staring with an expectant look on her face so Brooke sits up and apologizes profusely.

“Let’s get some beer.”

“So, I think I blacked out back there momentarily, because I definitely wasn’t looking or anything.” Brooke explains while holding the door open for Vanessa as they enter the empty gas station store.

Vanessa heads to the back where the freezers were. In the brought lights of the store Vanessa gets a good look at Brooke’s face. 

“Yuck.” Vanessa says disgusted at the dried blood and small cuts dotted around Brooke’s face and neck.

“What is it?”

“Should we get you some band aids or some shit? You need a cream?”

“No, no no. I’m um I’m-“ Brooke stops speaking and just stares at Vanessa’s face. “Wow, your eyes aren’t just brown.”

“My eyes?”

“Yeah, there’s some gold and then on the pupil there’s a hazel starburst sort of thing going on.”

“Well my grandma used to call it a dogs breakfast.”

“Lucky dog.”

“What kind of beer do you like?”

“What kind? All the kinds. I’m a maniac for the brew.”

Vanessa walks away with an eye roll at Brooke’s obvious lie. They pass the chip aisle where Vanessa loads up Brooke arms with chips and the beers. The candy aisle is passed and more is piled onto Brooke’s arms.

“Suzy Q’s, yum.”

“My mom says yum.”

“Yum.” Vanessa sultrily says as Brooke almost drops all the goods that were tenuously held by her arms.

“Not like that, that’s-“

“Are you okay?”

“Yep, I got it, won’t drop it.”

They reach the counter and Brooke throws their spoils onto it with a sigh of relief for her muscles.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“How are you?”

“Pretty good.” The now interested store clerk says while looking Vanessa up and down. “There you go.” after ringing up all the items.

“What’s up with your friend?”

“Oh, she’s my cousin.”

“What happened to her face?”

“She’s so clumsy she fell.”

“Sorry I asked.”

“Oh yeah, it’s fine.”

“I’m gonna need to see some ID.”

“Of course. Here you go.” Vanessa reaches into her clutch and pulls out an ID, Brooke knows that they are both seventeen but she keeps her mouth shut, mostly because of how confident Vanessa seems.

“Wow. You’ve lost a lot of weight Bertha. You certainly don’t look 38.”

“Well thanks.” Vanessa plasters on a bashful smile, both of the girls thinking that they got a way with the lie.

“So that’s 16.48, without the beers.”

“Come on, its graduation night.”

“Oh, well then congratulations.”

“Sam, is it? You seem like a cool guy, Sam. Come on, be cool.” Brooke sees Vanessa pout while the clerks resolve gets weaker.

“Look, I could lose my shitty job.”

“How about I kiss you so hard, you’ll have to change your underwear and pants when you think about.”

Brooke looks between both of them, waiting to see who wins the battle of wills.

///////////////////

“We got the beer!” 

Cheers are heard from the people waiting outside around Vanessa’s small car.

“So that was weird, what you did to that guy.”

“What happened?” 

“I sucked his face for like two fucking seconds.”

“Sucked his face?” Nina asks as she climbs into the backseat once again. The only difference in arrangements being that Brooke is sitting beside her now.

“Hand sanitizer me.”

“That was a big sacrifice.”

“I would have done it. I mean, before drinking the beer.” at everyone’s confused face she continues to talk trying to dig herself out of the hole. “What? It’s not straight. I’m not straight. I would do that to a female clerk too. It’s within the three second rule.”

“That’s for food, bitch.” Silky giggles at Nina’s red face and stuttering.

Brooke is still envisioning the scene she witnessed with Vanessa in the store. Her imagined version of Vanessa would never do anything like that. This Vanessa was real, and she was loud, and she wasn’t a perfect angel.

“She’s not Vanessa Mateo.” is whispered into the now silent car while everyone acts as though they hadn’t heard her proclamation.

//////////////////

The open fire and cool night led to relaxation and quiet conversation. Brooke was leaning against Vanessa’s car while the owner sat in the open trunk. Everyone else was circled around a wooden table and trees while drinking beers.

Seeing that Brooke’s face hadn’t changed since they left the store and that her beer was almost done, Vanessa extended an olive branch.

Vanessa enticed her with a beer bottle and pulling it away from Brooke’s reach as she tried to take it from her. Once she got ahold of the bottle she sat down on the trunk side by side with Vanessa.

“Hey.”

Getting herself a new beer too, Vanessa popped the cap with her teeth and casually took a swig.

Not wanting to be different Brooke tried to pop her cap with her teeth. The feeling of a tooth being yanked out, and the surprise of losing a tooth cause her to choke on it.

The coughing that ensues is ended as the tooth bounces off of Vanessa tan forehead and onto the forest floor.

“Oww, bitch!” Vanessa exclaims as the sharp tooth almost hits her eyes.

“Sorry. Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

She picks up her tooth and looks at it in the light of the fire.

“Is that your tooth?”

“It was deciduous.”

“You still have baby teeth?” A’keria sarcastically asks while staring at Brooke.

“Only had three, well now I have two.”

“Well this is for your pillow.” Vanessa hands her the tooth that she was examining.

“Thanks.”

The song ‘Kiss the Girl’ from the Little Mermaid plays and Brooke immediately flushed and skips the song until it’s playing at the lowest volume.

“How did that get on there. I don’t even- I didn’t put-. Nina did you put this on?” Broken asks Nina knowing full well that she put the entire soundtrack to the movie on.

“Leave it.”

“I have to pee.”

“Me too.”

“Aha, me thrice.”

The three other girls leave, with the same bullshit excuse to give them some semblance of privacy.

“I was named after this movie.”

“You were named after a Disney movie?”

“Yup. My parents were helpless romantics with a flair for musicals.”

“Wow.” Brooke says with a fond smile at Vanessa soft expression.

“Still kinda are, after all these years.”

“Vanessa Mateo’s parents, taking in a Disney movie. That’s.. so cool. It’s cool. You got cool parents.”

/////////////

Nina blindly walked through the dark woods with A’keria and Silky as they left Brooke to explain her music choice. 

They came across a field with a fence, that they of course climbed to find cows. Not just two or three, but over fifty cows just standing.

“Oh my god.”

“Cows.”

“Let’s tip one.”

Their responses are all different. One from fear, another from wonder, and the other with nonchalance.

“What isn’t that like an urban legend?”

“Why don’t you go find out?”

“Me? It was your idea.” Nina accuses as A’keria’s suggestion seems less and less enticing by the second.

“You’re the tallest.”

“What does that even have to do with anything?” Nina says as she goes towards a cow and prepares herself.

“Go, go, go.”

The cow tipping doesn’t go as planned, the cow is either too heavy or they are too weak, either way they give up within the first minute.

Nina is just walking away when a squelch under her foot causes them all to look down. A pile of cow shit is covering Nina’s entire new shoe. The giggles from A’keria and Silky get louder as Nina’s face falls.

“Ew.”

They are distracted from Nina’s mishap, when groans are heard from the cows. Out of nowhere they all moan and move towards them slowly then faster.

Running is the best option and they run as a stampede of cows follow them away from the fenced in area. Their yells mix in with the mooing and Nina’s shoe is still covered.

///////////////

Brooke was sat in the trunk while Vanessa sat with a blanket on her shoulders closer to the fire.

“So, what are you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

“So, whatcha doing after graduation?” Brooke asks, trying to get to know the real Vanessa, not the enigma that she created in her mind. “I was going- they have a pre-med program at Stanford and I-“

“Good luck with that.”

“What are your plans?”

“I don’t know. Maybe go to Charles Community College.”

“Charles. That’s really cool. They have a lot of good credit courses.”

“If I can afford it.” Vanessa says while still staring into the fire, not perturbed at the line of questioning from the blonde. “So, I’m not Vanessa Mateo, huh?”

“You heard that? I only meant that- you didn’t seem-“

“Like the Vanessa Mateo in your head?”

“Right. Her.”

“She wouldn’t ever fuck with a loser for a twelve pack of beer, right?”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Brooke says in embarrassment, Vanessa didn’t deserve to be put on an unattainable pedestal that no imperfect human could live up to. “And you don’t have to either. You’re better than that.”

Mooing is heard as the lull in the conversation becomes more comfortable.

Brooke heard it more clearly and the absurdness of cows in the forest still spooks her.

“What the hell was that?”

“Um, it sounded like a cow.”

“No, that was no standard cow.”

“Are you, Brooke Lynn Hytes afraid of cows?”

“Vaccaphobic? Of course not.” Brooke scoffs as Vanessa smiles at her.

Heavy footfalls and running are heard getting closer to their fire set up. The other three members of their group come into view, panting and scared looking.

“Whoa, whoa. What the hell? What happened to you guys?”

“A cow bit me.”

“Cows can’t bite.”

“Well this one sure as shit did.”

“No, no, no. We all know that they lack upper incisors.” Brooke explains as she is met with confused faces.

“You’re useful.” Vanessa thoughtfully says and she gathers her keys and starts towards her car.

“What’s that smell?” Brooke says, just now noticing the almost overwhelming shit smell.

“She pooped her shoes.” A’keria and Silky drunkenly giggle as they point towards Nina’s shoes.”

“Lose the shoes.” Vanessa says with a straight face.

“I paid for these shoes.”

“You’re not getting into my car with those shitty shoes.” Vanessa retorts as she opens the driver side door. “They go, with you in them or not.”

Vanessa gets into the car and the two other girls get into the backseat and wait for the two blondes.

“You pooped your shoes.” Brooke shrugs through a giggle while patting Nina’s back and eventually walking towards the passenger side.

Nina drops both of her new shoes onto the forest floor. One white shoe completed covered and the other still crisp.

The minute the shoes hit the ground the car speeds off, Nina’s door barely getting closed from the speed.


End file.
